Merrill R. Adams, 44, of Knoxville, a line foreman for Iowa Power & Light Company, was killed when bit by a semi-trailer stock truck about 11:15 a.m. Thursday on Highway 14, near the south end of the Whitebreast Creek Bridge.

Adams at the time was serving as a flagman in directing traffic while a crane that had been used in setting poles for a power line along the embankment was being dismantled on the east shoulder of the highway.

The truck which hit Adams was driven by Roger L. Bandstra, 19, of Route 2, Pella, and was owned by Peoria Stockyards. Wheels passed over Adams after he was hit by the front of the truck and his body was carried more than 100 feet before the truck stopped.

In their accident report Sheriff Lee Shives and Highway Patrolman Gerald Kephart said that a car driven by Clarence R. DeBoom, 45, of Newton, also northbound, had over taken the truck on the hill south of the accident scene. The DeBoom car slowed down in front of the truck near the flagman, the officers said, and was hit in the rear by the truck. The truck then swerved into Adams who was standing in the east lane of the pavement.

Damage to the truck was estimated at $300 and to the car at $225.

Funeral services for Adams, who is survived by his wife and three children, were held yesterday (Monday) at Clarinda with interment at New Market.